Sunset Western Garden Book. 8,000 plant listings. 30 Plant selection guides (colored foliage, ornamental grasses, plants that attract hummingbirds, plants for windy areas.
Sunset National Garden Book. 6,000 plant listings. Climate maps for entire country.
Sunset Western Garden Problem Solver. Look up problem by plant type (incl. weeds), disease or insect. IPM approach.
California Master Gardener Handbook. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Soils, fertilizer, water, pests, lawns, plants, grapes, citrus, poisonous plants. Written by Cooperative Ext. specialists from throughout the state.
Ornamental Plants: Their Care, Use, Propagation, and Identification. D. Dwight Wait. Number codes - totaling 24 - includes botanical pronunciation, foliage, color, flower, soil preference, fertilization, cold hardiness, propagation, water requirements, pest, diseases. Needs better binding.
Pests of the Garden and Small Farm. Mary Louise Flint. University of Cal. Color pictures, IPM approach. Crop tables: look up crop, describes symptoms, probable cause, suggested remedies.
Pests of Landscape Trees and Shrubs. Statewide IPM project. UC. Steve Dreistadt, Mary Louise Flint and Jack Kelly Clark. Color pictures, IPM approach. tree/shrub tables: look up tree/shrub, describes symptoms, probable cause, suggested remedies.
American Horticultural Society's "Plant Propagation". Alan Toogood, Ed. DK Publishing. 1,500 plants, 1,800 photos and illustrations. Best ways & times of the year to propagate each plant, degree of skill for each method.
American Horticultural Society's "Pruning and Training." Christopher Brickell and David Joyce. DK Publishing. 800 plants are grouped and listed alphabetically, with detailed information on the general pruning principles for each group and the growth habits and particular needs of individual plants. Especially, when to prune.
Sunset Pruning Handbook. Hundreds of trees shrubs, vines, fruits ,nuts and berries. Illustrated. When to prune underlined.
American Horticultural Society's "Encyclopedia of Garden Plants". Christopher Brickell, Ed. 8,000 trees, shrubs, vines, flowers and succulents. 4,000 color photographs. Great "mug shot" book, organizing plants by flower color, height and season of interest. 600 pages.
Rodale's Color Handbook of Garden Insects. By Anna Carr. Rodale. Full color, insect mug shot book. 230 pages. Good size for carrying into the garden.
Ortho's Plant Selector. Cynthia Putnam, Ed. Ortho Books. Looking for a ground cover for wet soil? Trees for the seacoast? flowering herbs? Annual vines for a fast cover? Over 150 lists of flowers, trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers that share common traits, serve specific functions or flourish under the same growing conditions. 112 pages
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply Catalog. groworganic.com PO Box 2209 Grass Valley, CA 95945. 888-784-1722. Covers the basics of organic gardening. Compares and contrasts the various organic fertilizers, cover crops and pest control solutions.
Ortho's Complete Guide to Successful Houseplants. Their gallery of houseplants includes over 300 photos and descriptions of flowering and foliage houseplants, including light requirements, watering, humidity needs, preferred temperature ranges, fertilization, propagation, grooming, repotting and pest/disease problems.
The Complete Book of Fruit. Bob Flowerdew. Penguin Publishing. 85 varieties of fruits and nuts, a discussion of their history, cultivation tips, pest control, harvesting and storing info. Wonderful color photos.
Ortho's All About Vegetables. updated in 1999. Good quick reference including siting, planting, spacing, caring, harvesting and peculiarities of artichokes to watermelons. Over 90 pages.
North American Landscape Trees. Arthur Lee Jacobsen. Ten Speed Press. 5,000 different kinds of trees, including where the tree came from, who named it and why, synonyms, maximum recorded dimensions, 250 color photos. OUT OF PRINT.
Perennial All-Stars by Jeff Cox. Rodale. 150 fool-proof? perennials.
The Natural Rose Gardener. By Lance Walheim. Ironwood Press. A less toxic approach to controlling rose problems. Descriptions of over 300 roses. 170 color photos.
Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. Over 400 entries. Nearly 700 pages. Good section on soils.
Citrus: The Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties for California, Arizona, Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida. By Lance Walheim, Ironwood Press. If you want to grow oranges, blood oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, grapefruit, pummelos, tangelos, tangors, kumquats and citrons. Which ones will grow best in your area.
The Outdoor World of the Sacramento Region. The American River Natural History Association. Describes and illustrates the plants (trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials, weeds), birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects that you might see along the American and Sacramento Rivers as well as other areas untouched in our region.
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Even at over 500 pages, this herb reference is more accessible than most. Includes tips on history, uses, and cultivation.
Where on Earth: A Guide to Specialty Nurseries and Other Resources for California Gardeners. By Barbara Stevens and Nancy Conner. Heyday Books. Looking for a palm tree specialist in the Bay Area? You'll find it here. Divides CA into 12 regions. Cross referenced in the back of the book by plant type.
Trees and Shrubs of California. By John Stuart and John O. Sawyer. UC Press. Gives locations and descriptions for over 300 trees and shrubs, including tree keys, 200 line drawings and 300 range maps.
A Natural History of Western Trees. By Donald Culross Peattie. Houghton-Mifflin. 750 pages. eloquent descriptions, especially the oaks; five pages alone on the valley oak.
Monterey & Bayer Garden Chemical Label Guides.